Have you ever dined at a restaurant where you felt so comfortable you unknowingly began rubbing your stomach, nodding off to sleep, yawning and stretching — you know, activities reserved for the privacy of your home?

Yarumba Restaurant and Bar is one of those places. With a homey and inviting interior, their fully loaded bar front and center had me sprinting for a cocktail.

We started things off with an order of mangú croquettes ($9.50) that were fried to a beautiful golden brown and boasting delicious fillings of salami and cheese, with a creole red tomato sauce with hints of garlic, onion and salt. Traditionally, with roots in Africa, mangú is made up of mashed boiled green plantains along with delicious and salty salami, topped with sautéed red onions at times. At Yarumba, fried cheese, fried Dominican “salami,” eggs and avocado are added as side dishes.

If you have a hangover, are cold, have a cold, your spouse just left you, dog passed away, or any other life pain, come and get a bowl of Sancocho to comfort you. This traditional stew hails from all over the Caribbean, but the Dominican version combines all manner of meat (pork, hen, and beef) with two different kinds of tubers (cassava, plantains, potato). Sour orange lends a uniquely Caribbean flair in addition to a thick broth creating the consistency of a winter stew.

Sancocho can be found all over the Caribbean, but this Dominican version has a host of different meats.Korey Davis Photography

Chivo Guisado or braised goat ($15.50) are delicious pieces of 48-hour marinated goat slowly cooked with oregano, garlic, and red wine with just a touch of spice served with two sides. This goat was so flavorful my knees buckled. Do not let the goat scare you. You will not regret it.

Yarumba Restaurant and Bar is quite possibly the number one dine-in restaurant in Miami Gardens. Great service, exceptional food and an inviting decor characterize this fusion Dominican.

It is my prayer that this restaurant creates a trend for others like them to begin opening within communities such as Miami Gardens, offering locals good, healthy and affordable dining experiences.

Yarumba Restaurant and Bar

4740 NW 167th St., Miami Gardens

305-622-9700

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is the founder of the The Hungry Black Man (www.hungryblackman.com). Having consistently run into stereotyping negatively affecting his dining and vacationing experiences, Smith decided to curate great destinations, restaurants, and discuss issues surrounding being a hungry black man.